Fix the Debt launches in Virginia

The Campaign to Fix the Debt, a national nonpartisan coalition of more than 340,000 business leaders, elected officials, community leaders and individuals, announced the launch Monday of its newest state chapter in Virginia.

The group is calling on federal lawmakers to work together on a debt and deficit reduction plan.

Fix the Debt Virginia Steering Committee members include former Republican U.S. Sen. John Warner and Virginia Delegate Ken Plum (D-Fairfax County). They want politicians in Washington to put aside political differences to stabilize the national debt and are encouraging Virginians to call on their members of Congress to take action.

“The strength of our national security, the strength of our global security, rests upon the foundation provided by our national economy,” Warner said in a statement.

Though Congress and the White House narrowly avoided going over the “fiscal cliff” on Jan.1 by coming to an agreement on taxes and postponing sequestration, there are worries about what could happen if another deal is not reached soon. According to the group, sequestration cuts could force thousands Virginians out of work and slash funding for programs like education and public housing.

“I am proud to join the Campaign to Fix the Debt and lead my fellow Virginians in advocating for real, fiscal reforms — like making entitlement programs solvent, reforming the tax code and reducing the deficit — to put our nation on the path to fiscal health,” said Plum, who is serving his 34th year in the Virginia House of Delegates and who had formerly served as the state chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia. “From Alexandria to Abingdon, folks are calling on Congress to take decisive action now to pass a plan that tackles the long-term issues facing our mounting debt crisis.”